Dogs’ negative impact on nature

for Algemeen Dagblad

Loes Oostermeijer walks eight dogs in the off-leash area Marlot. She has been boarding dogs at home for almost 50 years.

Our dogs are our best friends, but they also have a negative impact on nature - according to new research from the municipality of The Hague. Dogs scare away birds from breeding spots, attack local wildlife, and their activity can leave the ground bare. And then of course there’s the issue of all the poop and the pee, which leaves significant phosphor and nitrogen deposits in the soil, killing biodiversity. Should we think twice before getting another dog?

Full story, in Dutch, on AD.nl

On the right side of the water, where dogs gather and play, the ground is left bare and hardly anything grows there anymore.

In the Bosjes van Poot, another popular dogwalking area of The Hague, the municipality has found enormous phosphor and nitrogen deposits in the soil.